Wednesday Hodgepodge: On Love and other stuff

Having writer’s block these days, folks.  So might as well use some prompts to churn out a blog post on this frigidly bright Wednesday!  Here’s some Wednesday Hodgepodge!

1. Have you ever written a love letter? Have you written one recently? Had one written to you? Did you keep it?

Of course I’ve written love letters.  I’m a hopeless romantic.  Have been since I was a wee little girl.  I just don’t think I’ve ever actually delivered a love letter. ;)  I haven’t really written any recently, no.  And I don’t really recall ever receiving any, although I probably did when I was a kid.  There were, like, 3 boys in my elementary school class that I bounced around, surely to God ONE of them wrote me a love letter back in the day!

2. What’s a movie that ends in a way you especially love?

There are so many.  But because it’s fresh in my mind, I’m going with Cocktail.  I discovered a few weeks ago my DVD was missing, so I bought a new one (yes, it is one of my all-time favourites, I cannot exist without it in my collection), and then watched it right away.  It’s totally cheesey, but when Flanagan gets up on the bar and recites a poem to his unborn child, it melts my heart.  Fun fact:  when I was young, my sister had taped this movie on VHS from the TV, so the version I grew up watching was edited for TV, and also, the tape cut out right at the end when Jordan says to Brian, “Bet I can still spook you.”  I had no idea what she whispered in his ear, and my sister refused to tell me.  Took me years to find out just exactly how it ended. (I had my suspicions – it was pretty obvious – but I wasn’t sure until getting my hands on a real copy years later!)

3. Something that makes your heart sing? And for those of you who are parents, I mean something besides your children that makes your heart sing?

Snow!  Beautiful, falling, accumulating snow!!  Oh come on, dudes.  It’s still only February.  Too early for springtime.  Let it SNOW!!!  I love the smell in the air when it’s snowing.  I love the sound of snowplows waking me at 4:30 AM.  I love the crunch of it under my boots when I walk.  Nothing quite like a snow day… Snow makes my heart sing.

4. What’s the last event you had to attend, phone call you had to make, routine task you needed to complete, or meal you had to prepare, that you did do, but only half-heartedly?

I honestly can’t think of anything right now.  I hate talking on the phone, so pretty much any phone call I make is half-hearted.  Also, I’m the “social notes” writer, representing my town in our local paper (there are a handful of towns that the paper circulates to, and each has a correspondent that shares news, birthday wishes, etc.) – and there are weeks when I don’t want to be bothered with it, so some of my columns are written and submitted half-heartedly, I confess.

5. Tuna fish salad-yay or blech? If you said yay, how do you like your tuna salad prepared? Hey, this is the Hodgepodge, right?

Yay, but a mild yay.  I have to be in the mood for it.  Growing up, I was always an egg salad girl, but tuna was just about the only fishy thing I would eat for years.  I’m a big BLECH on salmon sandwiches, but I could handle tuna.  I like it with Hellman’s mayo, diced onion, celery, chopped up dill pickle, salt & pepper.  I like it on a whole wheat or multigrain bread.  And now, I’m realizing, I AM in the mood for it!

6. What’s something you ‘know by heart’?

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae.  I can’t think of anything else… I know there are song lyrics and other things, but right now, it’s that poem that comes to mind.  I always kind of amaze myself when I discover I can recite it without pause or fail every year on November 11th.  I guess they really drilled it into our brains at Remembrance Day ceremonies in school.  I’m proud of the fact that I can rattle it off as well as I can.  It’s an important poem.

7. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, what two or three word phrase would you write on a conversation heart for someone you love? That someone could be a spouse, child, parent, cousin, bestie…anyone at all whom you love.

“I Love Jimmy”.  OK, I stole this.  Jimmy posed this question to an audience member the other night, and when she replied “I Love Jimmy”, he rewarded her with a hug.  I thought she was pretty damned lucky.  Plus, all of my family and friends – even the kids – know about my Jimmy love, so they’d only think it appropriate, right? ;)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I’m actually excited for Valentine’s Day this year.  This is big for me.  And no, I don’t have a hot date.  My sister’s kids are coming for a sleepover/movie night, and I truly do look forward to spending this time with them.  I have a plethora of ideas for fun things to do – go sliding!  make crafts!  eat pizza & V-day treats! bake cookies!  watch movies! – probably more than we can accomplish during one day/night – but I’m excited.